Chapter Twelve
"What's going on?" Conner asked as he, Ethan and Kira quickly entered the lair.
"What's wrong?" Kira asked as she saw the distraught look on her teacher's face.
"Mel's gone… Elsa took her." Tommy said as he looked over Hayley's shoulder as she scanned for an invisiportal. "This is all my fault."
"Don't blame yourself, Tommy. You didn't know this was going to happen." Hayley said.
"I told her this would happen. She knew this was dangerous and she still got involved again."
"Dr. O., what happened to her the last time that makes you worry about her so much?" Ethan asked.
Tommy let out an exasperated sigh. Now was as good a time as any to tell this story. "It was a long time ago… When I was still the White Ranger…" He said.
(A.N.: I had originally written this as though Tommy was telling the story, but I changed the tense, so if I mess up a little, that's why and I'm sorry about that.)
They were getting slammed by another monster.
They couldn't keep up the fight, so they retreated back to the Command Center, so they could recover. They were in terrible shape. The monster could have killed them if they were there one more minute.
They would've been able to stop it if they had gotten help from the Green Ranger, but she was nowhere to be found. Not even Zordon and Alpha could trace her. It was as if she wasn't on Earth anymore, but they still had to try. They needed the extra help or Angel Grove would be doomed.
Then, the alarm sounded.
"Oh, Ai-yi-yi-yi! Zordon, I found her!" The robot cheered.
"Where is she?" Kimberly asked.
"Lord Zedd has captured her… He is draining the gem's powers." Zordon said as an image appeared on the viewing globe.
What they saw surprised them. They hadn't really expected that Melissa was the Green Ranger and Zordon never told them, nor had Alpha. The teens just figured that something was wrong at home. But, there she was… and she needed their help.
"Zordon, we have to do something." Rocky said.
"I know, Rangers. But, you know that there is not enough power to send you all to Zedd's palace… I'm afraid only two of you can go." Their leader said.
"Then, how would those who go get back if they're isn't enough power?" Adam asked.
"The Green Ranger has powers that rival even those that power this Command Center… She will be able to bring you home."
"But, which of us are going to go?" Aisha asked.
Kimberly quickly stepped forward. "I'll go." She said. "She's one of my greatest friends… I can't let Zedd get her powers."
"Very well." Zordon said.
Tommy gulped loudly, which he was thankful no one heard as he stepped forward. "You can count me in… At least now it makes sense why she's been acting weird lately."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked.
"She wanted to hide the fact that she was the new Green Ranger, but if she knew who we were, why didn't she just come out and tell us?" Billy asked.
"She wanted to protect you." Zordon spoke up. "Her powers are much different than yours. That is why Zedd is after her. He wants to use it to take over Earth. You must make sure that Zedd is unable to use the power emitted from the gem."
"And how do we do that?" Tommy asked.
"Only when the shift of power is complete, can Zedd access the power. You must not let him transfer all of the power from the gem." Alpha chimed in.
"Right." Kimberly said. "You ready?" She turned to Tommy and asked.
He nodded. "Let's take care of business."
"I'm entering the coordinates, now." Alpha said.
The Pink and White Rangers nodded as they got ready to re-morph.
"Bring her home, guys." Adam said.
"Be safe." Aisha said.
"Don't let Zedd overpower you. Remember to use the power of the mind over the body." Rocky said.
Tommy and Kimberly were nodding at what they said. It gave them even more confidence as they looked at Alpha.
"Coordinates are entered." Alpha said.
"Right… Ready?" Tommy asked. Kimberly nodded. "It's Morphin' Time! Tigerzord!"
"Pterodactyl!"
With that, they were teleported out of the CommandCenter, en route to the Moon.
"Good luck." Zordon said.
When they arrived on the Moon, they were on their toes. Seeing as though there were only two rangers in Rita and Zedd's lair, who knows what would happen to them without ever saving Melissa? It was a very difficult operation and they had to be careful.
"So, what do you think?" Kimberly asked.
"I'm thinking we should split up... but there's no telling what we'll run into, so, let's stick together and be careful." He said.
"Right."
They slowly crept around the palace only to hear loud screaming coming from not too far away. It was Melissa and she was in great pain.
They peered into the chamber that the screaming was coming from. They saw Melissa tied down on a flat metal table, Zedd standing over her, his staff sucking out the power from her gem.
"Oh, God." Kimberly muttered as she tried to look away, but she couldn't help but stare.
"Mmm, yes! Your powers are incredible! I think you'll come in handy." Zedd cackled as he kept collecting the power.
"You won't win… The others will… be here to… help." Melissa said, through the pain.
"Oh, I'm expecting them to come… and when they do, I'll destroy them!"
"You'd better come up with a better plan, Zedd!" Tommy yelled as he and Kimberly entered the chamber.
"Only two? Couldn't Zordon afford to send all of you?" Zedd asked, a loud chuckle following.
"He couldn't send all of them, so he sent the best!" Melissa said, relieved that Zedd had taken his attention off of her. With the staff unable to collect any more power from the gem, she was regaining her own strength.
"I'll deal with him, you get Mel loose." Tommy said to the Pink Ranger.
She nodded. "Right." He started to run after Zedd, but Kimberly grabbed his arm. "Be careful."
"Don't worry." He said. The White Ranger charged at Zedd with a two-footed kick to the chest. He fell to the ground, his staff falling just short of his reach.
"You'll pay for that, White Ranger!" He said.
"I'd like to see you try." Tommy retaliated.
But, before he knew it, Zedd had used his powers to summon his staff. He quickly stood back up, energy flowing out of the tip of it. "I've waited a long time for this. The unbeatable ranger, taken down in his prime." He struck Tommy with the staff. He fell hard to the floor. The White Ranger tried to stand back up, but Zedd stood over him, ready to strike again.
"No! Tommy!" He heard Melissa call out as Kimberly had undone the rest of her binding.
"First him, then the two of you!" Zedd said to the two girls.
"Not if we can help it!" Melissa said, anger in her voice and looking as though she was ready to attack.
"We?" Kimberly asked, not really sure what to expect from her friend. She had seen the Green Ranger fight, but now that Melissa was angry, there was no telling what she would do.
It happened in slow motion, it seemed. Melissa pulled a green morpher from behind her back. "It's Morphin' Time!" Tommy lay there in shock as he saw her transformation. "Green Serpent Power!" She cried out.
Zedd even stood there in shock as she stood there in her ranger uniform, but he soon snapped out of it. "One more makes no difference."
"Wanna bet?" Melissa asked. "Green Ranger Power Strike!" She cried out as her chest plate sent a shot of energy at Zedd. He flew across the room and landed very hard, but he was still able to fight back.
Tommy scrambled to his feet and over to the two girls. They needed to get out of there. "Can we go home, yet?" He asked.
"Home would be good." Kimberly said, making sure Zedd wasn't going to fire anything at them.
"Right." Melissa touched the gem in her chest plate and closed her eyes. She was about to take them home, but Tommy stopped her.
"Wait. I almost forgot something." He ran over to Zedd and grabbed the silver staff. He swung it hard and slammed it against one of the stone columns. The staff combusted as it hit the column, sending Tommy back over toward the girls.
"Are you all right?" Kimberly asked.
"Yeah." Tommy said as he stared at the sight before them. Little sparkling lights were flying out of the broken tip of the staff and flying throughout the palace. "Whoa! What is it?"
"It's all the power that Zedd has taken from others…" Melissa began. "It looks like they're returning to were they belong." As soon as she finished speaking, a small green orb began to dance in front of her before it flew into her chest plate. She stumbled back slightly and looked at herself. She felt very different. "Wow!" Was all she said.
"What?" The Pink Ranger asked.
"I feel… different… stronger… better."
"Well, let's go home, then, Oh Strong One." Tommy joked as they helped him back to his feet.
"I'd love to." She put her hands on Tommy and Kimberly's shoulders and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath as she began to feel as though she was breaking up into little tiny pieces. They floated into the air and through space, only to return to the Command Center.
"So, what happened after that?" Conner asked.
Tommy heaved a heavy sigh. It had taken a lot out of him to remember that whole story. He was going to answer, but he was interrupted by Hayley finding something useful.
"Hey, look at this." She said.
"Did you find the invisiportal?" Kira asked.
"Not yet… It's something on the green Dino Gem…" She trailed off. "It tells about the abilities the bearer will possess." She gave the screen a confused look. She'd never seen anything like it before.
"What's wrong? You seem confused." Tommy said.
"Did you know that it gives control over the weather?"
"Control over the weather? Man, that would be so cool!" Ethan said.
Meanwhile, it made Tommy think about his fight with Melissa. He couldn't believe he hadn't realized it when it happened. "I did, but I didn't connect it at the time." Hayley gave him a puzzled look. "You know how we had that really nice weather and then it suddenly turned very dark and stormy?"
"Yeah. I was washing my car when it started to rain… why?"
"Mel and I were fighting when it happened… She was extremely angry when it started to storm… It makes sense, now."
"What else does it say?" Conner asked.
"Her abilities can wait, for now. I found an invisiportal."
Yeah, I know, it's been a while since I updated. School started up for me, again and so that's taking up more time. Not to mention working on the weekends. But, I'll try to update as often as I can.
Please, read and review.